Beginning the Second Century

Agricultural and Biosystems

Engineering
Departmental Strategic Plan
(2004-2009)

Table of Contents
The Vision ......................................................................

The Mission ....................................................................

Values and Guiding principles ............................................

Strategic Planning ...........................................................

Themes with Goals, Strategies, and Success Indicators ........

Themes Tables ...............................................................

Departmental Performance Objectives ................................

14

Historical Relevance of Department ....................................

16

Summary .......................................................................

18

Ag and Biosystems Engineering

Beginning
the Second Century
The Vision
ISUs Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering: The premier team serving
agriculture and society through engineering for living systems.

The Mission
The mission of the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department is:

to promote undergraduate and graduate student learning in agricultural engineering

and agricultural systems technology,
to discover and improve new technologies for all stakeholders, and
to provide engineering expertise in the fields of agriculture and biosystems for the state,
nation, and world.

Values and Guiding Principles

As the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering department works toward achieving our
mission, all members of the department are requested to act in harmony with Iowa State
Universitys core values and the identified departmental values and guiding principles. These
departmental values and guiding principles are:

Diversity of students, staff, faculty, stakeholders, and viewpoints

Partnerships with stakeholders

Resources and infrastructure

Systems identity

Lifelong learning

Ag and Biosystems Engineering

Beginning
the Second Century

Beginning
the Second Century

The Process of Strategic Planning

Themes and Goals

The strategic planning process for the department

was conducted over a course of one and half years
beginning at the Fall 2002 departmental retreat.
Invited stakeholders and faculty participated in our
strategic plan by drafting the vision and mission
statements. Over the course of a year, several faculty
group meetings were used to explore goals, strategies,
and benchmarks addressing the adopted departmental
vision and mission in the context of discovery,
learning, and engagement.

The department has identified five themes of excellence that best describe our current and future
learning, discovery, and engagement activities. They are:

The strategic writing committee (Tom Brumm, Mary Ellen Hurt, Ramesh Kanwar, Manjit Misra,
Stewart Melvin, and Chuck Schwab) used the information gathered during the retreat and these
other meetings to formulate a unified strategic plan. This strategic plan was shared with the
faculty and staff and refined based on active participation and discussion. The original three
focus areas were developed into four themes: Environmental Stewardship Engineering, Plant and
Animal Production Engineering, Processing Engineering for Food Safety and Value Addition,
Advanced Machinery Engineering with an additional fifth crosscutting theme of Implementing
Values and Guiding Principles.

Environmental Stewardship Engineering

Plant and Animal Production Engineering

Processing Engineering for Food Safety and Value Addition

Advanced Machinery Engineering

Implementing Values and Guiding Principles

These themes share three common goals that encompass our talents, strengths, and expertise.
This combination of Themes and Goals gives us an efficient system for collaboration and
communication within our department. The following section presents the ABE Themes of
Excellence with goals, strategies, and success indicators.

The five theme areas were presented at a faculty meeting and approved. These themes were developed
into this current strategic plan that was passed during the January 2004 faculty retreat.

Ag and Biosystems Engineering

Ag and Biosystems Engineering

THEME 1 Environmental Stewardship Engineering

Quality soil, water, and air resources are socially and economically important to Iowa, the U.S., and the world.
Environmental stewardship engineering is needed to develop and disseminate information and technology that allows
those resources to be efficiently used to produce food, feed, and fiber, while maintaining or improving their quality.

Goals

Strategies

Improve resource
management systems

Generate knowledge/information needed in developing new components for improved

Optimize environmental systems

Adapt, evaluate, and utilize mathematical models/information systems to optimize design of

Integrate and
implement technology for environmental systems

pollution prevention systems

Optimize cropping, tillage, chemical, soil, and water management practices to reduce
negative environmental impacts while sustaining productivity
Assess benefits of off-site landscape modification/engineering for environmental enhancement
Provide input into TMDL planning and watershed protection

Establish an Environmental Engineering Center for Agriculture at ISU

Sponsor national/international conferences on agricultural environmental issues
Develop electronic delivery systems for dissemination of technical information on

systems
Develop sensors to monitor emission of pollutants (particulates and odorous, greenhouse,
and other gases) from agricultural production systems
Conceive and test equipment/techniques to reduce/control atmospheric pollutant emissions
Develop improved nutrient management practices (rate, method, and timing of manure and
fertilizer applications) to reduce losses from cropland
Evaluate new soil and water management practices to reduce chemical losses
Quantify and where needed develop methods to reduce losses of biological pollutants
(bacteria, viruses, parasites, and antibiotics used to control them)
Evaluate off-site practices for treatment/pollution control where on-site practices may not be
adequate

pollution control for agriculture

Take active role in communicating with action agency personnel implementing
pollution control programs
Continue to educate traditional and non-traditional audiences of the needs and
opportunities relative to improved resource management systems

Success indicators

Publication record relative to new knowledge/information and

improved practices/systems

Patent applications on innovative ideas, equipment, and methods

for resource protection/pollution control

Hardware and software tools for monitoring and control of
pollutant emissions from agricultural production systems
New options for determining rate, and methods and timing of
nutrient applications
Assessment of importance of biological contaminants and
possible control
Establishment of design parameters for use of off-site practices
for pollution control

Validated models available for assessment of cost/benefits of

improved systems

Release of recommendations on appropriate combinations of

cropping, tillage, chemical, soil, and water management practices for pollution control
Release of recommendations for use of off-site practices for
pollution control

Official recognition of new Center

National/international conference held in Iowa
Electronic education modules developed and web-based delivery

system upgraded
Faculty serving as members on governmental and industrial
advisory panels/boards
Documented evidence of educational impacts on producer
performance

THEME 2 Animal and Plant Production Engineering

The demand for efficient, safe and sustainable production of food animals and crops continues to increase. Leading the
nation in both counts, Iowa has a vital interest and position to advance the related science, engineering and technology.
APPE strives to discover relationships between living systems and their development variables, investigate engineering
solutions to alleviate adverse impacts of environment on living systems and disseminate the latest information to our
stakeholders.
Goals
Quantify, develop,
and evaluate animal
and plant production systems

Quantify animal and plant responses to modified environmental conditions that will advance

Optimize animal and

plant production
systems

the understanding of the synergistic impacts of environmental factors on modern animals and
plants
Investigate engineering strategies for animal and plant stress relief to enhance health and wellbeing
Develop intelligent sensors and/or control systems for precision animal and plant production
systems to reduce cost of production and environmental impact
Quantify aerial emissions from animal feeding operations and evaluation of means to mitigate
the emissions to enhance the sustainability of animal production agriculture
Develop methods to evaluate economic and environmental consequences of variable rate
management for precision agriculture
Encourage involvement and leadership roles in multi-state, multi-nation scholarly activities

Systematically integrate research-based information and methods both independently and

Integrate and
implement technology for animal and
plant production
systems

Success indicators

Strategies

collaboratively with cross-disciplinary colleagues, to optimize animal and plant production

systems
Work toward integrated management systems (IMS) that will prove sound with respect to
animal welfare, product safety and quality, impact on the environment, and cash return
Enhance partnerships with interdisciplinary and intra- and inter-institutional colleagues to
maximize the efficiency of resources utilization, the likelihood of success, and the magnitude
of impacts
Optimize plant and animal production models (e.g., plant growth, downwind dispersion of
aerial emissions from animal feeding operations)

Share faculty knowledge of air quality expertise through reciprocal faculty visits and hosting

of training workshops on air quality

Work closely with ABE field specialists to effectively deliver departmental animal and plant
programs
Offer a web-based delivery of production-oriented decision support tools
Augment local, national and international impacts of our programs by having faculty
o serve in leadership capacities inside professional societies
o serve on advisory boards/review panels with governmental or industry organizations
o present invited lectures at national and international events
o consult for prominent national or international clients or institutions
Enhance undergraduate and graduate programs through
o early involvement of undergraduates in research activities
o new dual-listed (graduate and undergraduate) course on air quality and measurement
techniques as related to animal feeding operations
o efforts to recruit domestic students into graduate programs (particularly Ph.D.)

Institutional and professional awards in recognition of faculty

accomplishments

Faculty serving in leadership or advisory roles with professional

societies, government agencies, and commodity groups

International invitations for academic exchanges (e.g., sabbatical),
serving on graduate program committees, presentation at special
workshops or symposia
Publication record of refereed journal articles
Recognized experts by college/university administrations, state
and federal agencies, and commodity groups to address issues that
face the animal and crop industries
Increased joint authorships with internationally prominent
overseas scholars

New measurement or sampling systems or methods developed

for monitoring emissions and downwind concentrations of aerial

pollutants associated with animal feeding operations
Innovative control systems or algorithms developed for optimal
operation of equipment used to control micro-environment in
animal and plant production systems
Patents or intellectual disclosures granted or filed that result from
our research and development efforts
New systems or control strategies derived from our scholarly
activities are implemented

Air quality conferences and workshops that are hosted

Newspapers around the state will carry articles on ABE success

stories
Grants written by department faculty will have an outreach
component
Partnership with industries in development of new products or
improvement of existing products
Undergraduate and graduate student enrollment have increased
domestic and minority students
Number of M.S. and Ph.D. awarded

THEME 3 Process Engineering for Food Safety and Value Addition

Adding value to agricultural products creates economic and social benefits for the people of Iowa, provides
renewable resources, and helps ensure efficient utilization of inputs. Food safety and security continue to be a
consumer concern. We will assist, through research in and application of engineering principles, in providing
Iowans with a safe and efficient food system that captures value.
Strategies

Goals
Design and develop
advanced systems for
food safety and value
addition

Optimize food
safety and value
addition systems

Generate knowledge and information needed to develop new ways to capture

Model process operations for understanding of value and efficiencies

Quantify food safety risks in agricultural and processing operations
Optimize grain drying and storage systems through such technologies as rapid

Integrate and
implement
technology for
food safety and
value addition

Productive publication record relative to new knowledge/

information
Establishment of new processes and/or products based on
research results
Significant collaboration with the Center for Crops Utilization
Research

New systems or strategies derived from our scholarly activities

are implemented

deterioration detection and ultra high temperature drying

Generate knowledge and information needed to improve current systems that
capture value in agricultural and biorenewable products

Implement a degree in Biological Systems Engineering to provide engineers to

value in agricultural and biorenewable products

Develop sensors and other measurement technology for effectively measuring
properties related to value addition and food safety, e.g., pathogens, composition,
etc.

Success indicators

industry with the skills and talents to address value addition and food safety issues
Implement Quality Management Systems for agricultural and processing industries to enable source verification and appropriate segregations
Incorporate QMS into our learning and outreach programs
Engage Iowas value-added industries, using their input to guide discovery,
learning, and outreach efforts, and providing them with engineering expertise to
address their problems and opportunities
Maintain and further develop the Seed Conditioning outreach program

ABET accreditation of biological systems engineering progra

Industry marketing of value-added machines and processes

THEME 4 Advanced Machinery Engineering

The agricultural industry producing the food, feed, and fiber for Iowa, the U.S. and the world is dependent on machinery
systems. Advanced machinery engineering has a critical role in developing, refining, and implementing emerging
technologies to improve machinery systems for the future.

Strategies

Goals
Design and develop
advanced machines
and systems for
agriculture

Solve fundamental engineering and technology questions related to agricultural

Optimize machinery
and systems

Explore cost effective size-neutral technology for agricultural machinery

Develop research programs investigating

Integrate and implement technology for

advanced machinery
engineering

o Integration of information technology (IT) in agricultural machinery and

systems
o Impact of agricultural machinery on sustainability
o Evaluate sensors and artificial intelligence for agriculture
Explore research and education opportunities with outdoor power equipment
industry

Striving to achieve the 1st choice status for students searching for agricultural

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machinery
Expand research program on advanced and emerging technologies related to
agricultural machinery and outdoor power equipment in
o intelligent and autonomous machines
o biorenewables production
o mechatronics
o sensors
Expand research partnerships with key industries
Pursue a funded endowed engineering chair in advanced machinery

machinery undergraduate and graduate education

Improve curriculum with state of the art technology, biorenewables, and business
components
Add a new faculty position to reach a critical mass in the Advanced Machinery
Engineering group
Assist clients in decision-making, economic analysis, and operation of machinery
systems

Success indicators

Industry partnerships and sponsored projects

Technologies transferred and adopted
Faculty accepted invited local national and international
presentations

Innovative designs, modeling, systems, or algorithms developed

for optimal operation of agricultural equipment and equipment

systems
Endowed chair funded

Faculty accepted invited local national and international

presentations

New systems or control strategies derived from our scholarly

activities are implemented

Partnerships with outdoor power equipment industry
Level and continuity of support number of publications

Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the curriculum for agricultural machinery

Qualifications of applicants enrolling in the machinery under

graduate and graduate programs

Level and continuity of external research support

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THEME 5 Implementing Values and Guiding Principles

Values and guiding principles are at the heart of any successful learning, discovery, and engagement programming.
The departments values and guiding principles are in harmony with Iowa State Universitys core values and those
identified by the colleges of agriculture and engineering.

Strategies

Goals
Boost diversity
in people and
thought

Recruit non-traditional ABE students in at least 2 large Iowa high schools and

through SWE
Target and develop several undergraduate scholarships for increasing our diversity
Develop/market curricula with broader appeal
Establish 2+2 programs with community colleges
Encourage international experiences for students and faculty
Encourage diversity in the department with visiting international scholars and
relationships with 1890s and 1994s schools

Success indicators

Percentages of women and minorities in the undergraduate

program

Number of 2+2 programs with community colleges

Students and faculty with international experiences
Inclusion of a dean from an external institution and a represen

tative of a 1890/1996 institution on the ABE Industrial Advisory

Council
Partnerships and relationships that include diversity

Improve engagement
with stakeholders

Develop an Agricultural Systems Technology industrial advisory committee

Host an annual ABE industry appreciation day
Implement an outstanding alumni recognition program
Provide monthly/semester email updates to our stakeholders

Accomplishments of the AST industrial advisory committee

Participation in the annual ABE industry appreciation day
Quality and numbers of recognized ABE alumni
Monthly/semester communications with stakeholders

Advance learnercentered pedagogy

and implement
outcomes assessment

Develop and implement outcomes assessment plan through existing curriculum

Implementation outcomes assessment plan

Workshops offered on assessment/learning
Faculty release time
Grants dollars generated for ABE learning communities
SoTL papers published each year

Reinforce resources
and departmental
infrastructure

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committees
Provide departmental assessment/learning workshops
Allocate faculty release time and staff time for learning/assessment
Obtain further support to development of ABE Learning communities
Secure external funding for learning/assessment efforts (NSF, USDA, foundations,
etc.)
Further emphasize SoTL through release time, resources, etc

New building Just Do It!

Increased support staff in identified critical needs areas

Groundbreaking for new departmental building

Positions funded and filled

o an electronics technician for research and teaching technology

o a professional student specialist for outcome assessments

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Beginning
the Second Century
Departmental Performance Objectives
This strategic plan outlines how the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering department will
achieve success on the five themes identified. The department will annually evaluate its plans and
programs to ensure steady progress towards the vision and mission of this strategic plan. In addition
to the success indicators outlined in each theme, the department will measure success with the set of
key performance indicators given below.

Key Performance Indicators

Replacement of two faculty positions in the area of animal and plant production engineering by fall 2004
Replacement of faculty position in the area of advanced machinery engineering by fall 2004
Replacement of two faculty positions in the area of environmental stewardship engineering by fall 2004
Replacement of faculty position in the area of process engineering for food safety and value added by fall 2006
Add two endowed professorships in by 2008
3.0 SCHs/K academic budget Agricultural College
400 SCHs/teaching FTEs Agricultural College
28 undergraduate Majors/K academic budget Agricultural College
100% student placement at graduation Agricultural College
90% of undergraduate students have internship or study-abroad experience Agricultural College
1.0 SCHs/K academic budget Engineering College
150 SCHs/teaching FTEs Engineering College
28 undergraduate Majors/K academic budget Engineering College
95% student placement at graduation Engineering College
50% of undergraduate students have internship or study-abroad experience Engineering College
1.1 M.S. graduates/Teaching FTEs
1.1 Ph.D. graduates/Teaching FTEs
Establish B.S. degree curriculum in Biological Systems Engineering
2.0 Peer-Reviewed Publication/Faculty FTEs/year
95% Tenured/Tenured Track Faculty as PI or Co-PI for external funding
5.0 million in departmental expenditures from External Funding
0.2 million in awards from External Funding/Faculty FTEs
0.7 Intellectual Property Disclosures, Patents, license/year
5 interdisciplinary or cross departmental cooperative programming efforts
5 of Extension Programs Achieving Positive Change
5 Strategic industrial partnerships/department
8 of faculty providing leadership at national professional societies
10 million Dollars raised from private gifts
New Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering building built by 2009

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Ag and Biosystems Engineering

Ag and Biosystems Engineering

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Beginning
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Historical Relevance of Department

This is a test

Leadership in developing a discipline to apply engineering and agricultural sciences and

technologies to biological systems has its roots in Iowa. At the turn of the 20th century this
emerging discipline was focused on providing engineering solutions for mechanizing
agriculture. This endeavor led to establishment of the agricultural engineering profession. In
1905, the name of the farm mechanics program within the Department of Agronomy at Iowa
State College was changed to Agricultural Engineering, and given department status. Dr. J.
Brownlee Davidson joined the staff as assistant professor and head of this new department.

The Iowa State Agricultural Engineering Department is currently ranked in the top ten
engineering departments in the nation. Departmental statistics for two years:
Category

1990

2003

Total Faculty ....................................................................... 23 ................... 24

The 1906-07 college catalog announced the degree of Bachelor of Agricultural Engineering,
coordinated through the College of Engineering. This was the first agricultural engineering
degree offered in the United States and Mr. Jacob E. Waggoner earned the first degree in 1910.

Undergraduate enrollment .................................................. 98 ................. 264

The Master of Science degree in Agricultural Engineering at Iowa State College was first offered
in 1918. The Doctor of Philosophy degree was established in 1938 as a co-major between
Agricultural Engineering and other departments. Dr. Henry J. Barre was the first recipient of a
Ph.D. in Ag Engineering-Physics at Iowa State in 1938 and is believed to be the first Ph.D.
recipient in Agricultural-Engineering in the United States. In 1962, the Ph.D. in Agricultural
Engineering was offered as a single major. The Agricultural Engineering undergraduate
curriculum at Iowa State became one of the first three accredited Agricultural Engineering
programs in the United States in 1936 and has maintained accreditation by the Accreditation
Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) since that time. During 1974, the Agricultural
Mechanization degree was developed and offered through the College of Agriculture.

Total FTE:

Through 2003, 1,423 agricultural engineering students have received their Bachelor of Science
degrees in Engineering at Iowa State University and 479 students have graduated from the
Agricultural Mechanization program. The M.S. degree has been awarded to 448 students and 218
students have been granted the Ph.D. from the Department. These 2,568 graduates form one of
the largest alumni groups of any Agricultural Engineering Department in the United States.

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Ag and Biosystems Engineering

Graduate student enrollment .............................................. 41 ................... 39

Teaching .................................................... 7 ..................... 9

Research .................................................... 9 ..................... 9
Extension .................................................. 7 ..................... 4
Ranking:
US World News Report:
Undergraduate Programs ............................ NA ..................... 5
Graduate Programs ..................................... NA ..................... 9

Ag and Biosystems Engineering

17

Beginning
the Second Century

Beginning
the Second Century
Notes

Summary
The Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering department is approaching the 100th year
anniversary. During that time the department has lead the way in many endeavors that supported
the profession, served the stakeholders, and contributed to the university. It is through this
strategic plan that the department begins its second century of service with expectations of
continued leadership. This department remains committed to the Land Grant philosophy of
serving the people of Iowa, our nation, and the world through learning, discovery, and
engagement, especially as human needs become more global in nature and population growth
requires increased food supplies and security.

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Ag and Biosystems Engineering

Ag and Biosystems Engineering

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Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Iowa State University
100 Davidson Hall
Ames, IA 50011-3080
Ramesh Kanwar, Chair
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